Luftwaffe Night Fighter Aces 1940–43
Seiten
2024
Casemate Publishers (Verlag)
978-1-63624-490-7 (ISBN)
Casemate Publishers (Verlag)
978-1-63624-490-7 (ISBN)
Fully illustrated chronological account of Luftwaffe night fighter aces in the first half of World War II.
On 10 May 1940, the Wehrmacht launched its assault on the West. One element of the West’s response was the dispatch of RAF Bomber Command ‘heavy’ bombers at night over German industrial centers. These raids had only limited effectiveness, but the inability of the Luftwaffe to chase down RAF bombers at night so annoyed Wolfgang Falck that it swiftly resulted in the creation of a credible night fighter force.
Initial trials had been flown with Bf 110s at dusk in Denmark in April, and 1. Nachtjagd.Division was founded in the summer of 1940. Its first few months were chaotic, with constant reorganizations of units, and reassignment of aircraft, but soon enough the night fighter arm was achieving steady victories—and losing crews at a similarly steady rate.
Despite the efforts of senior leadership, the Nachtjagd constantly struggled to secure sufficient personnel or aircraft, and would spend most of its life playing catch up—its radar systems regularly outdone by RAF Bomber Command’s jamming capabilities, though the development of Schräge Musik and Wilde Sau did give the Nachtjagd an edge. The first specialist Luftwaffe night fighter—the Heinkel He 219—would be trialled only in 1943.
Fully illustrated, this is a full chronological account of the night fighter units for the first part of World War II, covering major campaigns, the biographies of individual aces, and the details of the technology developed for the Nachtjagd.
On 10 May 1940, the Wehrmacht launched its assault on the West. One element of the West’s response was the dispatch of RAF Bomber Command ‘heavy’ bombers at night over German industrial centers. These raids had only limited effectiveness, but the inability of the Luftwaffe to chase down RAF bombers at night so annoyed Wolfgang Falck that it swiftly resulted in the creation of a credible night fighter force.
Initial trials had been flown with Bf 110s at dusk in Denmark in April, and 1. Nachtjagd.Division was founded in the summer of 1940. Its first few months were chaotic, with constant reorganizations of units, and reassignment of aircraft, but soon enough the night fighter arm was achieving steady victories—and losing crews at a similarly steady rate.
Despite the efforts of senior leadership, the Nachtjagd constantly struggled to secure sufficient personnel or aircraft, and would spend most of its life playing catch up—its radar systems regularly outdone by RAF Bomber Command’s jamming capabilities, though the development of Schräge Musik and Wilde Sau did give the Nachtjagd an edge. The first specialist Luftwaffe night fighter—the Heinkel He 219—would be trialled only in 1943.
Fully illustrated, this is a full chronological account of the night fighter units for the first part of World War II, covering major campaigns, the biographies of individual aces, and the details of the technology developed for the Nachtjagd.
Neil Page has a degree in Modern Languages and has lived and worked in Germany. He spent eight years at London Gatwick airport in flight dispatch with a major European airline. He has translated the unit histories of JG 2, JG 4 and JG 300 and is one of the team behind the successful Luftwaffe Gallery book series. His web site FalkeEins—the Luftwaffe Blog has garnered over 4 million page views over the last decade. He is the author of Day Fighter Aces of the Luftwaffe 1939–42 and 1943–45.
Erscheinungsdatum | 17.09.2024 |
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Zusatzinfo | 100+ photographs and artwork |
Sprache | englisch |
Maße | 178 x 254 mm |
Themenwelt | Geschichte ► Allgemeine Geschichte ► Neuzeit (bis 1918) |
Geschichte ► Allgemeine Geschichte ► 1918 bis 1945 | |
Geschichte ► Teilgebiete der Geschichte ► Militärgeschichte | |
Sozialwissenschaften ► Politik / Verwaltung | |
ISBN-10 | 1-63624-490-4 / 1636244904 |
ISBN-13 | 978-1-63624-490-7 / 9781636244907 |
Zustand | Neuware |
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